Managing Disaster Differently: Shock-Sensitive Social Protection in Malawi

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Malawi is a shock-prone country with heightened vulnerability due to the high prevalence of poverty as well as food and nutrition insecurity. Failing to address these chronic issues, will make it so that future shocks continue to require humanitarian assistance. This is evidenced by the events of recent years. In 2015 and 2016, historic flooding (amid the strongest El Niño in a quarter of a century) followed a catastrophic drought, resulted in over 6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. In this context, shock-sensitive social protection has become a national priority in Malawi and it is now a key area of focus in the implementation of the new Malawi National Social Support Programme (MNSSP II). Moving forward, shock-sensitive social protection will require for the system and programmes to be strengthened and adapted to handle shock prevention, to preparedness, response, recovery and long-term development, while working closely with the humanitarian sector. Work is under way to this aim, resulting in innovations and learnings.

Webinar

The aim of the webinar is to share Malawi’s experience on re-thinking its social protection system to make it more shock-sensitive. The webinar will share examples from the policy and programme experiences that have shaped this new focus, as well as the vision in the new Malawi National Social Support Programme.

The webinar presents an overview of the challenges and opportunities for shock-sensitive social protection in Malawi, including a more in-depth understanding of the relationship between climate, poverty and food insecurity and the government’s vision to address such challenges. It will also present ongoing experiences to operationalize such approaches, drawing on practical and innovative examples of shock-sensitive social protection programming. 

This webinar draws on information, which was compiled in a recent report (Towards Shock-Sensitive Social Protection System in Malawi) undertaken by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre (RCRCCC) and commissioned by the Government of Malawi (GoM) with financial support from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and through the German contribution to the European Union (EU) Social Protection System Initiative, in cooperation with the World Food Programme and the World Bank.

Presenters

Selvi Vikan, Team Leader, Social Protection, GIZ Malawi

Rebecca Holmes, Senior Research Fellow, Social Protection and Social Policy Programme, the Overseas Development Institute

Harry Mwamlima, Director of Poverty Reduction and Social Protection Division, Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Malawi

Edward Archibald, Chief of Social Policy, UNICEF Malawi 

Daniela Cuellar, Policy Officer, WFP Malawi

Caoimhe de Barra, Country Director, Concern Worldwide, Malawi

 

This webinar was the first of the EU-SPS Series, which was organized by GIZ.